Valve seeking playtesters for new games, hardware

Ever wanted to stop by Valve's offices and have an early look at the studio's upcoming games? Swinging by Valve Towers for a visit may seem like a pipe dream to most, but now the company is actually giving ordinary players the chance to do just that. In an announcement on the Steam forums, Valve invited players to fill out its new playtester survey. If you're selected, you'll get to drop by Valve's offices and test out the studio's upcoming games and hardware prototypes.

No, we're not kidding. Since the playtest involves a trip to Valve's offices, the company is specifically looking for people in the Seattle/Bellevue area. However, even if you have the misfortune of living anywhere else in the country, you're not entirely out luck. Valve is inviting anyone who lives in the United States to fill out the survey, as it says it may want to conduct remote playtests in the future.

At the moment, the playtest survey is only open to those who live in the United States. That may not be the case forever, though, since Valve says it's looking to "add international support in the future." We'll be keeping an eye out for more details on that international roll out, but sadly, Valve fans living outside of the United States can probably expect to be left waiting for a while.

Valve likely won't let you leave its offices without first signing an NDA, so now you have to ask yourself: if you get selected to stop by for a playtest and you get to play an early build of Half-Life3, can you keep that yourself? We have a feeling that some Valve fans would struggle with that one. In any case, this is a great move by Valve, and one that's sure to net it even more points with the gaming community. Who's ready for some playtests?